In the very short time I have been a member of ebay I have had three attempted scams from abroad, a non-arriving item followed by a hostile email from the seller when I asked what to do next, the same seller leaving a vitriolic piece of feedback to which I replied, a disputed paypal claim with a different seller when yet another item has failed to turn up, a buyer who tells me she didn't realise the bag was used when the purchase date was stated as two years' ago and I explained my decision to sell after loving it for two seasons and wants a refund, fees that seem to escalate daily, an abusive email from a rival bidder on an item, not to mention the endless emails, trips to the post office and anxiety as to what will happen next. I can't stand it anymore and wrote to them today to close my account - I feel so relieved to be out of that place. I am in awe of those who stick with ebay. For me, no amount of 'successful' trading would ever justify the horrid experiences of the last few weeks. Am I pathetic?
Hi Miss Sooky, I am sorry you have had all these awful experiences. Ebay in my opionion has got a lot worse recently mostly because I think new buyers do not know how it works. Yes their are a lot of scams from emails, I myself got my account broken into last week, I have been on ebay a few years now, know the scams or thought I did, but even I got hacked into by someone sending a seller question to me. You should not have given the money back on the bag if you clearly stated in you auction it was used. You are not pathetic why not just stick to buying things. Ebay has always been good to me helpful and always sorted any problem I have out, but I am fortunate I have a direct line telephone number which they give out to a few people. Take a deep breath and in a few weeks try buying something if you see it. Leave selling alone for a while
Some ebays are just awful. I think it is better if you just "shop" and don't buy for some time before actually bidding or selling stuff. You can get an idea of what goes on, check feedbacks, see which sellers seem to be consistent, reliable sellers etc.
Thanks for the replies guys. I feel really naive about giving the refund now, but at the time, I was so upset that the woman who no longer wanted a used bag wasn't happy. I hate confrontation - even online! As for the scams, although I realised quickly, I saw how easy it was to be sucked in because two of them involved questions from apparently excellent buyers who turned out to have had their accounts hijacked by crooks. I think a break is a very good idea all round, meanwhile I will continue to read this forum - it is so informative and supportive - what a great combination!
i am so sorry that ebay was so bad for you! yes, it can be a mjor hassle sometimes. i happen to love it but i am very wary about what i buy. i find that most things are not as described. but i love selling! maybe i'm wierd. lol.
I love buying do not like selling much. I am lucky have not had a problem although I am sure my time will come. Like I said before I am sure a lot of the problems are caused by new people, do not get me wrong everyone has to start somewhere, but most of the time they do not read the auction properly, they have no idea how ebay works, some of them even think its a game, if they only took a little time to fully understand how ebay works. Most of us are not shops.
I too just buy. Too many horror stories from sellers who constantly get scammed. I have been lucky, but I also tend to be faithful to my sellers who I know are true and authentic.
I don't sell very often either. I love to buy though and have been on ebay since 1999 with only one issue.
